News & Stories for Oregonians
Available in Spanish Since it was first identified in late October (in New York), Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 has rapidly outcompeted other Omicron subvariants and is believed to now represent more than 70% of cases in the northeast United States. XBB.1.5 comprised an estimated 27.6% of COVID-19 cases in the United States during the first week […]
Available in Spanish The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have released two reports showing the bivalent COVID-19 booster provides significant protection against COVID-19-related hospitalization, especially for people age 65 and older. These new reports follow a recent study showing that symptomatic people who received the bivalent vaccine were less likely to test positive […]
Available in Spanish On Monday, Nov. 14, Governor Kate Brown issued an emergency declaration in response to a surge of pediatric cases and hospitalizations of respiratory viruses, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The declaration will give hospitals more flexibility to staff beds for children, draw on a pool of medical volunteer nurses and doctors and […]
Available in Spanish Cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are increasing nationwide and are likely to rise in Oregon. This will strain the state’s hospital system, especially combined with an expected increase in flu and COVID-19 cases this winter. Pediatric hospital capacity is limited in Oregon and is expected to be heavily strained based on […]
COVID-19 reinfections have been one of the largest unknowns during the pandemic. Can you get sick again? If so, when? How serious would a second or third infection be? Does being vaccinated reduce the likelihood of being reinfected? New data compiled by Oregon Health Authority (OHA) help answer these questions. Let’s start with some […]
Because you can still get COVID-19 if you’re vaccinated, some people believe the vaccines don’t work. But COVID-19 vaccines are, and have always been, highly effective at reducing hospitalizations and deaths. In the first year vaccines were available (Dec. 8, 2020 through Dec. 8, 2021), the vaccines prevented an estimated 15-20 million deaths globally. In […]
Available in Spanish The quick answer is yes, we are still living in a pandemic. A pandemic refers to a disease that has spread to several regions around the world, and COVID-19 continues to have sustained transmission around the world. Over the past few months several hundred people have died each day in the United […]
Available in Spanish Autumn has arrived in Oregon, with leaves beginning to change color to reds, oranges and yellows. This signals the coming of our third winter living with COVID-19. We are optimistic that this winter will not be like the last, when Omicron rapidly spread around the world, or the first COVID-19 winter, before […]
Available in Spanish The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many of us to be less physically active over the past two years, and that can affect our mental health. When we exercise, dance, play with our kids, ride a bike, shoot hoops, walk to work or any other activity that makes our hearts beat faster, our […]
To read this story in Spanish, click here. If you can still get COVID-19 after vaccination, what’s the point of getting vaccinated? This is a common question, and it has a simple answer. Like most preventive measures, the COVID-19 vaccines can’t provide absolute protection. However, these vaccines clearly reduce the risk of getting infected, and […]
